Michelle Obama on mistaken-address shootings: ‘I hope and pray that at some point enough becomes enough’

Former first lady Michelle Obama on Thursday said she hopes “enough becomes enough” amid recent gun violence incidents and mistaken-address shootings in New York and Missouri. 

“I hope and pray that, at some point, enough becomes enough,” Obama told Gayle King on “CBS Mornings,” adding that she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, wondered when that point would be throughout their time in the White House. 

A 20-year-old woman was fatally shot last week by a homeowner in New York after the car in which she was a passenger mistakenly pulled into the man’s driveway, according to police. And in Missouri earlier this month, a 16-year-old Black boy was shot twice by a white homeowner after he showed up to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, authorities said.

“We are the only developed country on the planet where its citizens can have unfettered access to firearms. That is not a good thing,” Obama said. The former first lady has long been vocal in pressing for legislation to curb gun violence.  

“And more of us have to feel strongly about it, and particularly our young people. This is where democracy comes in. Voting. …  All this stuff is decided in the ballot box.”

The mistaken-address shootings are among a number of other recent gun violence incidents, including mass shootings in Louisville, Ky.; Dadeville, Ala.; and Nashville, Tenn.